La Constitutional Court established that the constitutionality issues raised by the Council of State on the reform of People's Banks they are unfounded. This was announced by the Consulta in a press release in which it recalls that the question concerned "a provision of the reform of cooperative banks, introduced with decree law no. 3 of 2015, which involves limitations on reimbursement in the event of withdrawal of the shareholder following the transformation of the bank into a joint-stock company. The claims were found to be unfounded."
The Court explains that it “first of all confirmed that the conditions of necessity and urgency existed for the decree-law. Furthermore, the contested legislation - which in implementation of the European one on prudential requirements provides for the possibility for banks to introduce repayment limitations in the event of shareholder withdrawal - does not affect the right to property. As for the regulatory powers entrusted to the Bank of Italy, they fall within the limits of what is permitted by the Constitution”.
“We take note of the decision of the Council. Waiting to know the reasons, we can only say that the sentence rewards the stability of the system, including the reform of the Popolari - commented the president of Drowsy, Corrado Sforza Fogliani – Administrative justice will still have to deal with it anyway. In any case, the ruling of the Consulta does not block the penal investigations in progress".
Now for the two popular banks that have not yet completed the transformation process into joint stock companies (Sondrio and Bari), a race against time is expected to adapt to the provisions of the reform without risking the withdrawal of the banking license.
La Popular Bank of Bari, which had acquired Tercas at the end of 2014, shortly before the issuing of the decree in January 2015, and had then frozen the transformation into a joint-stock company pending the verdict of the Consulta, "welcomes the pronouncement of the Supreme Court with favor - writes the institute in a note – which puts an end to a situation of great uncertainty that has been going on since December 2016, influencing the Institute's strategic choices and generating widespread concern among stakeholders on the outcome of the pronouncement. Confirmation of the constitutionality of the reform regulatory system now places Banca Popolare di Bari on the same level as the other former cooperatives that have already carried out the transformation and allows the future alignment process to be planned with serenity and awareness, preparatory to the pursuit of the objectives of further growth and strengthening in support of the territories in which the bank is historically present".
The other Popolare still having to make the transition to Spa is that of Sondrio: “We are waiting to see the content of the sentence – comments Francesco Saverio Marini, one of the lawyers who had appealed to the administrative justice at the request of some members of Popolare di Sondrio – The press release speaks of the legitimacy of the limitation, which we agreed with. It does not explain, however, whether this also refers to a reset. In any case, we reserve the right to evaluate the appeal to the Strasbourg Court".
After the publication of the Consulta's decision, Popolare di Sondrio spins on the Stock Exchange: the share is up by 3,37% to 3,302 euros after a peak of more than 4%. The decision of the Consulta for Equita analysts is "unexpected". “At this point – write the analysts – in our opinion it is conceivable that in a couple of months BP Sondrio will convene an extraordinary shareholders' meeting to transform itself into a joint stock company”. In the short term, Equita deems "improbable M&A transactions because the business combination with CR Cento is still underway and the other banks are engaged in derisking processes". However, the decision will lead to an increase "in the speculative appeal of the stock, which today is not fully discounted despite the fractional ownership which could lead to a rerating of the stock by 10-20%".
